About Us

We believe that at present some of the broad strokes of the Government of India’s policies and development programs for mountain states are neither mountain nor state specific. For a number of geographical, historical, political, and socio-economic reasons, what works in India’s non-mountainous states might not in its mountainous ones. Similarly, what works in one mountainous state might not in another.

Compounding this problem is the fact that most mountain states went through almost 12 rounds of territorial reconfiguration, giving rise to political instabilities and a development architecture and machinery that was left behind. To this end, we see it our duty to bring the mountain states up to speed with the country’s development in a sustainable and locally relevant way.

Where we work

We operate in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal (Darjeeling district), Arunachal Pradesh, Assam (Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts), Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. We currently have offices in 8 locations, including our head office in New Delhi.

We provide a platform for stakeholders in India’s mountain states and regions to come together and discuss sustainable development, evolve consensus on priorities and action plans, and consult relevant authorities.

Government of India’s Planning Commission Task Force (2010) formed “to look into problems of hill states and hill areas and to suggest ways to ensure that these states and areas do not suffer in any way because of their peculiarities” underlined the need for a common platform for regular interaction and decisions on essential plans for the region. Following this, the Central Himalayan Environment Association (CHEA) in Uttarakhand hosted the first Sustainable Mountain Development Summit that led to our formation.

We catalyze and galvanize scientists, administrators, social workers, development practitioners, and industry to collectively reflect on not only degeneration of the environment but also on its intrinsic relationship with development.

We believe the Sustainable Mountain Development Agenda, the legacy of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, June 1992 (“Earth Summit”), must now be discussed more horizontally and vertically, and much more frequently than a few stand-alone seminars and workshops.

Accordingly, we created platforms for open and continuous dialogue on mountain concerns through annual summits and by encouraging networks on various mountain themes and concerns.